A lot can happen over coffee. Like a war, maybe.

Coffee and newspapers have a far closer relationship than we can imagine. In the 18th century, people frequented coffee houses primarily to read “the papers”—for free.

But, as a new four-volume book, “Eighteenth Century Coffee House Culture“, edited by Markman Ellis says, in 1728, the relationship got a little too tempestuous.

The coffee men protested the high price of the papers and the fact that there were so many of them. The newspaper men on the other hand, resented the fact that they got little by way of return from the coffee houses although they were helping draw customers in.

Sounds like modern newspapers vs the internet? Or just a storm in the C-cup?

Coffee puts the system under the strain of metabolizing a deadly acid-forming drug, depositing its insoluble cellulose, which cements the wall of the liver, causing this vital organ to swell to twice its proper size. In addition, coffee is heavily sprayed. (Ninety-two pesticides are applied to its leaves.) Diuretic properties of caffeine cause potassium and other minerals to be flushed from the body.

All this fear went away when I quit, and it was a book that inspired me to do it called The Truth About Caffeine by Marina Kushner. There are five things I liked about this book:

1) It details–thoroughly–the ways in which caffeine may damage your health.

2) It reveals the damage that coffee does to the environment. Specifically, coffee was once grown in the shade, so that trees were left in place. Then sun coffee was introduced, allowing greater yields but contributing to the destruction of rain forests. I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere else.

3) It explains how best to go off coffee. This is important. If you try cold turkey, as most people probably do, the withdrawal symptoms will likely drive you right back to coffee.

4) Helped me find a great resource for the latest studies at CaffeineAwareness.org

5) Also, if you drink decaf you won’t want to miss this special free report on the dangers of decaf available at http://www.soyfee.com